Lookout Point to Un-named River 34km Downstream
Distance: 34 km, Lining 1 – [cumulative total 1046.5 km]
InReach: Day 53 V str quartering headwind Lined or paddled at snail’s pace along lee shore for 34 hard won km Now 1043km since leaving Yellowknife J&K
Camp: 64.256°N 101.981°W
Bitterly cold night due to the freezing wind which did not let up. John could not get warm despite having every bit of clothing he owns on. We hit a headwind of 30 kph, white caps and half metre waves soon after we set out and turned north for a short period. There was no hope of paddling, we just got blown backwards so we lined the canoe along the shore for over a kilometre. Walking in the sand we were following a set of bear footprints, only the second set we have seen since leaving Yellowknife. The whole day was one long battle with the wind causing us to hug the west shoreline meaning we missed out on the benefit from the current. It remained bitterly cold all day and despite some blue sky when we set out it soon clouded over and remained grey and miserable. We saw the usual array of water fowl plus some very busy sandpipers [? semipalmated or buff breasted sandpipers] feeding on the shoreline. John also surprised a ground squirrel when checking out suitable camp sites. It was good to stop with lots of time to check out the numerous rocks and stones on the shore. Over the past few days we have seen some beautiful flat stones that would make awesome garden pavers with their fantastic colours and patterns. Hopefully tomorrow the wind will be kind and we can make some real distance.
Another non-descript campsite at the end of a long day battling the wind